by Bill Bryson
Pentateuch. The first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
pentathlon, modern. The five events are swimming, fencing, pistol shooting, cross-country running, and cross-country horseback riding.
Pentecost. The Christian Whit Sunday, the seventh Sunday after Easter; the Jewish Shavuot, the sixth and seventh days of Sivan.
peon, paean, paeon. A peon is a servant or peasant; a paean is a hymn or song of praise; a paeon is a metrical foot in ancient Greek and Latin poetry.
peony. A flowering plant.
PepsiCo Inc. U.S. company that owns Pepsi-Cola.
Pepys, Samuel. (1633–1703) English Admiralty official, remembered for his diary; pronounced peeps.
per. Many usage guides suggest, and a few insist, that Latinisms like per should be avoided when English phrases are available—that it is better to write “ten tons a year” than “ten tons per year.” That is certainly reasonable enough in general, but I would suggest that when avoidance of the Latin would result in clumsy constructions such as “output a man a year,” you shouldn’t hesitate to use per.
per ardua ad astra. (Lat.) “To the stars through adversities.”
P/E ratio. Short for price-to-earnings ratio; a stock market measure in which a value of a stock is determined by dividing the stock’s price by the company’s earnings per share.
percent, percentage point. If interest rates are 10 percent and are raised to 11 percent, they have gone up by one percentage point, but by 10 percent in value (i.e., borrowers must now pay 10 percent more than previously). In everyday contexts the distinction is not always vital, but in contexts in which the percentage rise is large and confusion is likely, the distinction is crucial.
perceptible.
Perceval, Spencer. (1762–1812) British prime minister (1809–12); only British prime minister to be assassinated.
perchance. Possibly.
Perelman, S. J. (for Sidney Joseph). (1904–1979) American humorist.
perestroika. (Russ.) Restructuring.
Pérez de Cuéllar, Javier. (1920–) Peruvian diplomat; secretary-general of the United Nations (1982–92).
perfectible, perfectibility.
perforce. Without choice.
perigee. The lowest or nearest point in an orbit; opposite of apogee.
Pérignon, Dom. Champagne.
perinatal. Pertaining to the period immediately before and after birth.
peripatetic. Wandering.
periphrasis. Using more words than necessary, circumlocution; pl. periphrases.
perishable.
periwinkle.
Perlman, Itzhak. (1945–) Israeli violinist.
permissible.
pernickety.
Perón, (María) Eva (Duarte de). (1919–1952) Nickname Evita; second wife of Juan Perón (1895–1974), president of Argentina (1946–1955, 1973–1974).
perpetrate, perpetuate. Occasionally confused. To perpetrate is to commit or perform. To perpetuate is to prolong or, literally, to make perpetual. The Boston Strangler perpetrated a series of murders. Those who write about him perpetuate his notoriety.
Persephone. In Greek mythology, queen of the underworld; identified with the Roman goddess Proserpina.
Perseus. In Greek mythology, son of Zeus who murdered Medusa.
persevere, perseverance.
persiflage. Idle banter.
persimmon.
personal, personally. When it is necessary to emphasize that a person is acting on his own rather than on behalf of a group or that he is addressing people individually rather than collectively, personal and personally are unexceptionable. But usually the context makes that clear and the word is used without purpose, as here: “Dr. Leonard has decided to visit personally the Oklahoma parish which is the center of the dispute.” If he visits, Dr. Leonard can hardly do it otherwise than personally. Many other common terms—personal friend, personal opinion, personal favorite—are nearly always equally redundant.
personnel.
perspicacity, perspicuity. The first means shrewdness, the second lucidity.
pertinacious. Persistent.
peruse. It is a losing battle no doubt, but perhaps worth pointing out that peruse does not mean to look over casually. It means to read or examine carefully.
pesos.
Pétain, Henri Philippe. (1856–1951) French general and politician, head of the Vichy government (1940–1944).
PETCO Park. San Diego baseball stadium, home of the Padres.
Peter Principle. The idea that people are promoted until they reach a level at which they are incompetent.
Petri dish. (Cap. P.)
Petrograd. Originally St. Petersburg, then Leningrad; reverted to St. Petersburg in 1991.
Petrovskoye. Former name of Makhachkala, Russia.
Pettenkofer, Max Joseph von. (1818–1901) German chemist.
Pettersen, Suzann. (1981–) Norwegian professional golfer.
pettifog. Quibble over petty matters; legal trickery.
petty bourgeois. A small businessman; member of the lower-middle class. In French, petit bourgeois.
peu à peu. (Fr.) “Little by little.”
Peugeot. French automobile.
peut-être. (Fr.) Perhaps.
Pevsner, Sir Nikolaus. (1902–1983) German-born British art historian.
pfennig. Former German coin worth one one-hundredth of a mark.
PFLP. Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
PGA. (No apos.) Professional Golfers Association.
pH. Potential of hydrogen, a measure of acidity in a solution.
Phalange. Political party in Lebanon.
phalanx, pl. phalanxes/phalanges.
pharaoh. Not -oah.
pharmacopoeia. A book containing descriptions of medicines and drugs.
phenomenon, pl. phenomena.
Phidias. (c. 498–c. 432 BC) Greek sculptor, responsible for all or part of the Parthenon.
philanderer. An unfaithful person.
Philip Morris. U.S. tobacco and diversified products company.
Philippi. Ancient city in Macedonia.
Philippians. Book of the New Testament.
philippic. A verbal denunciation.
Philippine Sea.
Philippines, Republic of the. Note -l-, -pp-. Island state in the Pacific Ocean; capital Manila. A person from the Philippines is a Filipino if male, a Filipina if female.
Filipino or Pilipino is also the name of the national language.
Philips. Dutch electrical company; formally, NV Philips Gloeilampenfabrieken.
Philips Arena, Atlanta.
philistine. Person who is indifferent or hostile to matters of culture.
Phillips screws and screwdrivers. Named for their originator, Henry F. Phillips.
Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts. Private high school; also called Phillips Andover or just Andover. Not to be confused with PHILLIPS EXETER ACADEMY.
Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.
Phillips curve. In economics, a measure showing the relationship between inflation and unemployment.
Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire. Private high school; commonly called just Exeter. Not to be confused with PHILLIPS ACADEMY of Andover, Massachusetts.
Phillips Petroleum. U.S. oil group.
Phillips Son & Neale. (No comma.) London Auction house.
Philomel/Philomela. Poetic name for the nightingale.
phlebitis. Inflammation of the veins.
Phnom Penh. Capital of Cambodia.
phony.
Phyfe, Duncan. (1786–1854) Scottish-born American furniture maker; born Duncan Fife.
phyllo (or filo). Pastry.
phylum. Taxonomic division of plants and animals; pl. phyla.
Physic, Regius Professor of. Cambridge University. Not Physics.
physiognomy. Facial characteristics.
physique.
pi. Ratio of circumference to diam
eter of a circle, equivalent to 3.14159… also the sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet.
pianissimo, pianississimo. In music, the first means very soft, and the second means as softly as possible.
Picard, Jean. (1620–1682) French astronomer.
Picasso, Pablo. (1881–1973) Spanish artist.
picayune. A trifling matter.
Piccadilly.
piccalilli. A kind of relish.
Piccard, Auguste. (1884–1962) Swiss physicist.
piccolo. A small flute pitched an octave higher than a normal flute; pl. piccolos.
picnicked, picnicking, picnicker.
pico-. Prefix meaning one-trillionth.
Pico della Mirandola, Count Giovanni. (1463–1494) Italian philosopher.
pidgin, creole. Pidgin is a language spontaneously devised by two or more peoples who have no common language. Pidgins are generally very rudimentary. If contact between the different peoples is prolonged and generations are born for whom the pidgin is their first tongue, the language will usually evolve into a more formalized system of speech called a creole. Most languages that are commonly called pidgins are in fact creoles.
pièce de résistance. (Fr.) Most outstanding item, particularly applied to the finest dish in a meal.
piecemeal.
pied-à-terre. (Fr.) (Hyphens.) A secondary residence; pl. pieds-à-terre.
Piedmont. Region of Italy; in Italian, Piemonte.
Pied Piper of Hamelin.
Piero della Francesca. (c. 1418–1492) Italian artist.
pierogi (or pirogi). Polish dumpling; pl. same.
Pierre, South Dakota. The state capital; pronounced peer.
Piers Plowman, The Vision of William Concerning. Epic poem by William Langland (c. 1360–1399).
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Capital of Natal.
pigeonhole. (One word.)
piggyback.
Pikes Peak. (No apos.) Summit (14,100 ft.; 4,341 m.) in Rocky Mountains, Colorado; named after Zebulon Montgomery Pike, its discoverer.
Pilates. (Cap.) Trademarked exercise system.
Pilipino. Language of the Philippines.
Pilsener (or Pilsner). Beer.
Pilsudski, Józef. (1867–1935) Polish statesman.
pimento, pl. pimentos. Pimiento and pimientos are accepted alternatives.
Pincay, Laffit, Jr. (1946–) Panamanian-born American jockey.
pineal gland.
Pinero, Sir Arthur Wing. (1855–1934) English comedic playwright.
Ping-Pong. (Caps.)
Pinocchio. Note -cc-.
Pinochet, Augusto. (1915–2006) President of Chile (1973–1990).
pinscher, Doberman. Breed of dog.
pint. A liquid measure equal to sixteen ounces in the United States, twenty ounces in Britain.
Pinturicchio. Nickname of Bernardino di Betto Vagio (1454–1513), Italian painter.
Pinyin. System for romanizing Chinese names. Pinyin was devised in 1953 but has been in widespread international use only since about 1977. See also CHINESE NAMES.
piquant. Pungent, alluring.
pique. Resentment. “Fit of pique” is a cliché.
Piraeus. Port of Athens.
Pirandello, Luigi. (1867–1936) Italian author and playwright; awarded Nobel Prize for Literature in 1934.
Piranesi, Giovanni Battista (or Giambattista). (1720–1778) Italian artist and architect.
piranha. Species of fish.
Pirelli. Italian tire manufacturer.
pirouette. Graceful turn on one foot.
Piscataway, New Jersey.
Pissaro, Camille. (1830–1903) French painter.
pistachio. Nut-bearing tree; pl. pistachios.
pistil. Part of a flower.
pitiable, pitiful, pitiless, but piteous.
Pitti Palace, Florence. In Italian, Palazzo Pitti.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Not -burg.
pixels. Picture elements, the little squares from which computer graphics are composed.
pixie. Not pixy. A sprite.
Pizarro, Francisco. (c. 1475–1541) Spanish conquistador, conquered Peru, founded Lima.
pizzeria. Not pizza-. Restaurant where pizzas are made.
Plaid Cymru. Welsh nationalist political party; pronounced plide kum'-ree.
plan ahead. Always tautological. Would you plan behind?
Planck, Max. (1858–1947) German physicist, awarded Nobel Prize for Physics in 1918.
planetarium, pl. planetariums/planetaria.
planetesimal. Orbiting body with planetlike qualities, but too small to qualify as such.
Plantagenets. Dynasty of English monarchs from Henry II to Richard III (1154–1485).
plaster of paris. (No cap.)
plat du jour. (Fr.) “Dish of the day.”
plateau. pl. plateaus (or plateaux).
platen. The roller on a typewriter.
plate tectonics. Not tech-. The science of Earth’s crust and its movements.
Platt-Deutsch/Plattdeutsch. German dialect, also called Low German.
platypus, pl. platypuses.
plausible, plausibility.
“Play it, Sam” is the correct line from the movie Casablanca; Humphrey Bogart never actually said, “Play it again, Sam.”
playwright. Not -write.
PLC. (U.K.) Public limited company, one whose shares are sold publicly and quoted on the stock market; equivalent to the American Inc. or German AG. Many companies write “plc” or “Plc,” but there is no logical reason for so doing.
plead innocent is wrong, at least in the English-speaking world. Under the British and American judicial systems, one pleads guilty or not guilty.
plebeian. Common, vulgar, of the lower classes.
plebiscite. Vote of the people.
Pleiades. In Greek mythology, the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione; a cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus.
Pleistocene. Geological period.
plenary. Full, complete. A plenary session of a council is one attended by all the members.
plenitude. Not plenti-. An abundance.
plenteous.
Plessy v. Ferguson. 1896 Supreme Court case that upheld the view that children of different races could be educated separately as long as the quality of education was equal.
plethora is not merely a lot; it is an excessive amount, a superabundance. For a word that is often similarly misused, see SPATE.
pleurisy. Inflammation of the membrane covering the lungs.
Plexiglas. (Cap.) Not -ss.
Plimsoll line/mark. Point down to which a ship may be loaded.
PLO. Palestine Liberation Organization.
plum, plumb. If it is edible or vegetative the word is plum (plum pudding, sugerplum, plum tree), but in all other senses the word is plumb (plumb line, plumb the depths, plumb tired out).
plumage.
plummy. An affected rich, full voice.
plus is a preposition, not a conjunction, and therefore does not influence the number of the verb. Two and two are four, but two plus two is four.
Plutarch. Properly Ploutarchos (c. 46–c. 120). Greek historian, biographer, and philosopher.
plutocrat. Person who has influence or power because of wealth.
p.m./PM. Post meridiem (not -ien), (Lat.) after noon.
PNC Park. Pittsburgh baseball stadium, home of the Pirates.
Pocahontas. (c. 1595–1617) North American Indian princess, known for saving the life of John Smith.
Pocatello, Idaho.
pocket borough. A British parliamentary borough controlled by one person or group; common before parliamentary reforms of 1832.
Podhoretz, Norman. (1930–) American journalist and writer.
Poe, Edgar Allan. (1809–1849) American poet and short story writer.
poet laureate. For the plural, poets laureate or poet laureates are both generally accepted.
pogrom. Methodical massacre of a minority group.
poinsettia. W
inter-flowering plant.
pokey, poky. The first is slang for jail; the second means small, cramped, or slow.
Poliakoff, Stephen. (1954–) British dramatist.
poliomyelitis. Commonly shortened to polio. Once called (somewhat misleadingly) infantile paralysis.
politburo/Politburo. The chief committee of a Communist Party.
Polizei. (Ger.) Police.
Pollaiuolo, Antonio. (1429–1498) Italian painter, sculptor, and goldsmith.
Pollock, Jackson. (1912–1956) American artist.
Pollyanna. An optimistic person, particularly one who is foolishly so; after the heroine of a 1913 novel by Eleanor Porter.
polonaise. A slow Polish dance, or the music for it.
poltergeist.
Poltoratsk. Former name of Ashgabat, capital of Turkmenistan.
polyandry. State or practice of a woman having more than one husband at the same time.
polygamy. State or practice of a man having more than one wife at the same time.
polypropylene. Type of plastic.
pomegranate. Round fruit with many seeds.
Pomeranian. A toy breed of dog.
Pompeian. Of Pompeii, the Roman city destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79.
Pompey. (106–48 BC) Properly Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus; Roman soldier and statesman.
Pompidou Center, Paris. Formally Le Centre National d’Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou; also called Centre Beaubourg.
pompon. Not -pom. A ball or tuft of material.
Ponce de León, Juan. (1460–1521) Spanish explorer, discovered Florida.
Pontchartrain, Lake, Louisiana.
Ponte Vecchio. Famous bridge over the Arno, Florence, Italy.
Pont l’Évêque. French town and type of cheese named after it.
pooh-bah. Person who holds many offices at once, from the character Pooh-Bah in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado.
pooh-pooh. To dismiss or make light of.
Popescu-Tăriceanu, Călin. (1952–) Prime minister of Romania (2004–).
poppadam (or poppadom). Indian thin, crisp, fried bread.
populace, populous. The first describes a general population. The second means heavily populated.
porcupine.
pore, pour. Occasionally pour appears where pore is intended. As a verb, pore means to examine carefully (“He pored over the documents”) or, more rarely, to meditate. Pour indicates a flow, either literally (“He poured the water down the drain”) or figuratively (“The rioters poured through the streets”).
port, starboard. When facing forward on a ship, port is to the left, starboard to the right.